Hours after AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha released a video asserting that he was not defeated, Saurabh Bhardwaj on Friday criticised him, saying that politics cannot be driven by fear and remarking, 'Jo dar gaya, woh mar gaya.'

In a video message addressed to Chadha, Bhardwaj said that all party members are 'soldiers' of Arvind Kejriwal and are expected to raise public issues fearlessly while confronting the government.

He alleged that the government acts in a dictatorial manner by banning voices on social media platforms and filing FIRs against those who raise serious issues or question it. He added that such actions do not affect the government if someone engages in 'soft PR' in Parliament, stressing that limited parliamentary time should be used to raise major national concerns.

Bhardwaj also questioned Chadha's stance on several issues, alleging that he had not raised strong questions against the Prime Minister or the government in the House in recent times. He further claimed that Chadha did not sign a proposed motion by opposition parties to impeach the Chief Election Commissioner and had avoided participating in opposition walkouts.

Raising concerns over party matters, Bhardwaj alleged that Chadha had remained silent on issues related to Punjab, from where he is elected, as well as on cases involving party workers in Gujarat. He also referred to the arrest of party leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, claiming that Chadha was not present in the country at the time.He urged Chadha to reflect on his political journey and emphasised the need to raise key issues with courage, adding that 'soft issues' do not impact the ruling party.